"A challenge?" Jason paused, then a cunning glint appeared in his eyes. He smirked, rubbing his chin. "Alright, kid. Since you're so brave, why don't... you represent the Salt Blade and issue a challenge to those guys from Crimson Thorn? How about it?"
To Jason's surprise, Rayne immediately crawled out from under the table, patted the dust off his clothes, and puffed out his chest. "Fine! I'll do it!" With that, he actually walked straight toward Damari's table.
"Jason! Are you insane?!" Freya's face paled. She never imagined Jason would be so reckless as to have a child provoke a group of mercenaries.
"Don't worry," Jason said with a grin. "I was just joking. I wouldn't dare... holy crap!" Jason's words were cut off by a young but loud voice.
"I, Rayne, representing the Salt Blade, hereby issue a formal challenge to you, the Crimson Thorn! Do you dare to accept?!"
Rayne was staring directly into Damari's cold eyes as he made his declaration.
Damari's already pale face darkened further. The murderous intent shooting from his eyes was fixed on Freya and Jason. To him, having a snot-nosed brat issue a challenge was a blatant, naked insult. It was trampling on the dignity of Crimson Thorn.
"Hey! Don't just stand there like a coward! Does Crimson Thorn dare to accept the challenge or not?!" Rayne repeated when there was no response, adding the highly provocative word "coward."
"Coward" was the most vicious insult one could throw at a warrior.
"Fine! Very good!" Damari slammed his hand on the table, the force making the mugs jump. He shot to his feet, pointed at Freya and Jason, and roared, "Crimson Thorn accepts! Freya, Jason, which of you wants to die first?!"
"Vice-Captain Damari, I believe you are mistaken. It was I who issued the challenge, so your opponent should be me," Rayne said.
Damari laughed, a harsh, grating sound. He pointed at Rayne and said to Freya and Jason, "Hahahaha! Are you at the Salt Blade really going to send this little pipsqueak to his death?!"
"No, Vice-Captain, you misunderstand," Rayne said with a serious expression, shaking his head. "I requested to issue the challenge myself. And before the duel is over, please don't jump to conclusions and say I'm here to die."
"You sharp-tongued little bastard!" The smile vanished from Damari's face, replaced by a chilling murderous intent. His cold aetheris erupted again, the pressure forcing Rayne's small body to stagger back two steps before he could steady himself. "Do you have any idea how easy it would be for me to crush you like an ant?!"
Rayne took a deep breath, raised his small fists, and took a fighting stance. "Then, you're welcome to try!"
"You court death!" A cold light flashed in Damari's eyes. He raised a finger, and a wisp of pale green aetheris quickly condensed into a foot-long, sharp blade of energy, shooting toward the spot between Rayne's eyebrows.
"Rayne!" Freya, Jason, Klaus, and the others shot up from their seats, wanting to intervene.
But Damari's attack was too fast, and the distance too short. Even if they wanted to save him, it was already too late.
Faced with the fatal attack, Rayne didn't even try to dodge.
However, just as the blade of aetheris was about to touch his forehead, Damari's wrist flicked, and he instantly retracted the deadly energy.
If he had actually killed an unarmed child in front of so many people, he, Damari, and the Crimson Thorn Mercenary Legion would become the laughingstock of every mercenary in Luminea. He fixed his grim eyes on Freya. "Freya, are you at the Salt Blade sure you want this boy to represent you in this challenge?!"
"No! Damari, if you've got guts, come at me! I'll fight you!" Jason finally snapped out of his shock. He never thought this skinny little kid would be so reckless as to provoke Damari. Filled with regret and anxiety, he was about to rush forward to take Rayne's place.
But Freya grabbed the impulsive Jason. She glanced at Rayne, who was still standing tall. "That's right, Vice-Captain Damari. We confirm that Rayne will accept your challenge." She suddenly realized that the boy had been gambling all along. And it seemed... he had already won half the bet.
Damari couldn't refuse, but he also couldn't possibly fight a child who wasn't even a Rank-1 Warrior himself. It would be a complete loss of face.
His face grim, he scanned his men, his gaze finally settling on a young, baby-faced mercenary. "Abner, you're up," he said coldly. "Go and 'teach' this ignorant brat a lesson. Remember, don't kill him by accident."
A bitter look crossed Abner's face. Fighting a child was not a glorious task, win or lose. But since he was the weakest and least experienced member of Crimson Thorn, this "unpleasant duty" naturally fell to him.
"This is the mercenary Abner," Damari explained, his tone dripping with false magnanimity. "He just advanced to Rank-1 Warrior half a year ago. He's the weakest in Crimson Thorn. We're not bullying you at the Salt Blade!"
Freya shrugged nonchalantly, signaling that she didn't care, but inwardly she was ecstatic. She was almost certain that Rayne had calculated from the very beginning that, to save face, his opponent would be a relatively weak Rank-1 Warrior.
This little boy's cunning was terrifyingly deep.
"Wait, I have something to say before I fight him," Rayne suddenly said.
A cold smile appeared on Damari's face. "What is it, kid? Scared now? Too late! But don't worry, I'll have Abner go easy on you. I promise he won't kill you right away!"
"No, I'm not scared." Rayne shook his head. He looked at Damari and asked earnestly, "I just want to know, if... and I mean if, I happen to win this duel, what will you do?"
"Hahahaha! You'll win?! That's the funniest joke I've heard all day!" Damari burst out laughing as if he had heard the most ridiculous thing imaginable.
Rayne remained unfazed. He waited patiently for Damari to finish laughing before continuing, "Unexpected things happen all the time, don't they, Vice-Captain?"
Damari narrowed his eyes, reassessing the child before him. He snorted. "Fine. Let's say you get damn lucky and win by some freak chance. What do you want?"
"Simple," Rayne said, pointing a finger at the ornate, ruby-inlaid longsword at Damari's waist. "I want that sword as my prize."
"Heh, you've got good taste, kid! This sword is priceless! Selling you ten times over wouldn't be enough to buy it! But what if you lose? What can you possibly offer as a stake?"
"If I lose," Rayne said without hesitation, glancing back at the dumbfounded Jason, "Brother Jason will get on his knees and beg for your forgiveness in front of everyone! And from now on, whenever he sees anyone from Crimson Thorn, he has to walk the other way!"
Jason, standing nearby, nearly coughed up blood. He pointed at Rayne and exploded, "No! I don't agree! Rayne, you little bastard! You're screwing me over! When did I ever agree to those terms?!"
Damari pointed at Jason, laughing so hard it took him a moment to stop. Then his face turned cold. "Not enough! The apology of an insignificant nobody like Jason isn't worth nearly as much as my sword!"
"Who are you calling an insignificant nobody! If you've got the guts, fight me for real!"
"What if I add my staff to the wager?" Freya interjected, once again pulling Jason back. She produced a black magic staff, about a foot and a half long. At its tip was a transparent crystal the size of a pigeon's egg, from which a mysterious and powerful magical energy pulsed.
Any discerning eye could see that this staff was also of Superior-Tier, its value possibly even greater than Damari's sword.
"Don't!" Jason and Klaus shouted in protest almost simultaneously.
A greedy glint flashed in Damari's eyes. His Adam's apple bobbed. "Done!" he agreed instantly. "Now that's fair!"
Freya simply smiled. "Shall we begin?"
"Go, Abner! If you can't win this, you can get the hell out of Crimson Thorn!"
Seeing that the fight was really about to happen, all the mercenaries in the bar gathered around to watch the "show."